The Willink School celebrates 'good' Ofsted

THE Willink School in Burghfield Common has maintained its good rating following a one-day Ofsted inspection.

The visit, on June 12, was the first short inspection carried out at the Burghfield Common school since it was judged to be good in February 2014.

Good is the highest Ofsted rating a school can gain during a one-day inspection.

Headteacher Peter Fry described the report as “overwhelmingly positive”.

He added: “Overall, our feeling is satisfaction with a tinge of disappointment.

“We knew by the very nature of a short inspection we could not be judged to be outstanding on the day, but it was a little deflating nevertheless.”

The report says pastoral support in the school remains “very strong” and pupils were praised for being “excellent ambassadors”, with incidents of poor behaviour and bullying “rare”.

It also highlighted the significant number of pupils that had both entered for and achieved the English Baccalaureate, which was higher than the national average.

The report added that pupils, including the most able, disadvantaged and those with special needs, make “progress above the national average in English, mathematics and the subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate”.

The Willink became a Teaching School in 2017 – a school that works with others to provide high-quality training and development to new and experienced staff.

It is part of the Government’s plan to develop a self-improving and sustainable school-led system.

The quality of teaching was deemed as “high standard”, but inspectors noted that there are some slight variations in the quality of teaching within the school, while governance was also reported to be strong.

Leadership in the school’s sixth form was also identified as being healthy, with the inspector noting the quick response of leaders to a dip in performance by students following vocational courses, by making curriculum changes.

Ofsted identified two areas where the school could make improvements.

These were to ensure all teaching and learning is of the highest standard and to make sure strategic plans have clear measures of success.